Stryker's Desire (Dragons Of Sin City Book 1)

by Meg Ripley

  He lifted her chin, so that her gaze met his once more. “I know what you’re thinking Amy,” he sighed. “You’re afraid I’m not coming back to you.”

  She nodded silently, tears welling up in her eyes as she finally heard the words in her head spoken aloud. Until this moment of post bliss connection, she hadn’t thought of his departure much. It was inevitable; he would have to leave. He kissed her lips, long and loving, and gave a saddened smile.

  “I promise you,” he whispered, “I will return to you soon. I have to tell my people that there’s another planet that can sustain us. It’s my duty—it’s bigger than me. You understand, right?”

  “Yes, I do,” she sobbed through the kisses. “I’m just afraid of losing you. I’ve gone my whole life waiting for you, Luke, and now I have to say goodbye.”

  He pulled her close to his chest, squeezing her naked body tightly in his arms and caressed her long hair. Amy thought she heard a sniffle escape him as he too shed a tear. She closed her eyes tightly and savored his embrace.

  “This is not goodbye,” he chuckled despite his sadness, “it’s more like ‘See ya’ll later.’ ”

  “You’re getting better at our slang now,” Amy joked, trying to lighten the damp mood.

  “Why yes, I reckon I am,” he teased, and they shared a long laugh in each other’s arms.

  ****

  Soon after that night, Luke had discovered that his ship could be fueled by organic matter, specifically the byproducts of fruits and vegetables grown on Amy’s farm, which meant he could now return home to save his people. After several days had come and gone, Luke’s ship was finally ready for departure, and the feeling of dread began to overtake her.

  Amy barely touched her meal that night, picking at the plate full of juicy ham and sweet potatoes. She gazed into her lover’s deep emerald eyes, knowing that he would soon be gone, trying her best to hold onto the hope that he would someday return to her arms once again.

  Amy shoved her plate aside, tears welling up in her eyes. Pushing his chair back, Luke reached out for her, coddling her in his giant arms. She sobbed in his t-shirt, wanting nothing more than to have him forever by her side. Luke held her so tightly, she thought she would lose her breath—and he, too, shed a tear.

  He nudged her back, planting a deep, wet kiss on her lips, locked in a lover’s embrace that could only be experienced with true love. He gave her an eager smile and released his arms once more.

  Luke cracked a sheepish smile, “I forgot… I have something for you. Why don’t you come out to the field and see me off?”

  He took Amy’s hand and led her outside to the ship, past the cattle languidly grazing in field. She knew it was selfish, but she longed to convince him to stay; to find another way to signal his people that didn’t involve that tedious journey. What if he was hurt—or worse, killed—upon his return trip? Despite her true feelings, she knew in her heart that she had to let him go. An entire race of people sat anxiously awaiting his return, their very lives hanging in the balance.

  Once they reached the ship, he squeezed her hand, “I’ll be back in just a moment.” He pressed a shimmering green button, opening the door with a long hiss. He returned a minute later, holding something tightly in his hand. Facing her, Luke opened his hand; Amy glanced down to look, tears quietly streaming down her cheeks. In his palm was ring, his large hands dwarfing its size. She leaned in closer and gasped in amazement to find the most beautiful gem set inside. It was light blue with little white tufts moving through it, almost like a summer sky adorned by wispy white clouds. Amy had never seen anything like it and marveled at its beauty.

  “It was my mother’s,” he spoke softly, lifting her ring finger with his free hand. “On my planet, it’s a tradition for the male to go out in search of almerade, which means ‘sky rock’ in your language, to give to his one true love when he finds her. It’s a promise of forever, as long as the skies above still stand.”

  She gazed at the ring, then back to Luke’s loving smile. Was he proposing? Slowly, Luke slid the ring onto her finger and Amy felt as if the ground beneath her had caved in, her heart ready to explode. The world spun in a mixture of happiness and impending sadness, knowing that she must part ways with her love, if only for a short time. He leaned in for a final kiss, the emotions stirring in both of them, then backed away towards the door of the ship.

  “I must go now, my love.” His emerald eyes remained locked with hers as he stepped aboard, the humming of his engine filling the space around her. At the door, he paused for one last loving gaze. “See ya later.” He smiled the warmest smile he could muster.

  “See ya later,” she replied; the look of sadness was clear on both of their faces.

  Amy watched until the ship was clear out of sight, gazing longingly at the now empty space between two stars. Half-heartedly, she trudged back to the house. Shiloh lifted her head from her place near the fireplace as Amy entered and slumped down into the chair. She felt so empty; the eerie sound of a silence house bothering her like it never had before. With a sigh, she headed towards the staircase, glancing longingly at the ring upon her finger. Just as she reached the first step, the sound of static filtered through the air around her, like a CB radio had switched on somewhere near the mantle.

  “Come in, Cowgirl,” the voice was familiar, “This is Space Man… can you hear me?”

  She walked cautiously back into the living room and glanced around; nothing seemed to be disturbed. Shiloh lifted her head once more as the voice echoed again.

  “Amy, can you hear me?” It was Luke, but coming from where, she didn’t know. “Shiloh, Girl, go show Amy your collar!”

  There upon Shiloh’s collar dangled a shiny bauble; to the untrained eye, it would appear to be nothing more than a fancy silver trinket. She unhitched it from the collar, examining it in greater detail. A tiny, emerald green button popped up on the back that Amy hesitantly pressed.

  “Luke, is that you?” She lifted her finger to listen.

  “Yes, it is,” he laughed, “Surprise! Now you can communicate with me until I reach the outer limits of my home galaxy. I thought this might help us both, you know, in case you might miss me or something.”

  Amy rolled her eyes and pressed the button once more, “Miss you? Now why in the world would I do that?”

  Luke’s laughter filled the room. Perhaps she would be able to bear their time apart after all. Regardless of what came their way, Amy knew deep in her soul that Luke was forever hers, and she would wait as long as it took for him to return to her arms once again. She walked up the stairs towards her bed to rest, clutching the silver ball tightly in her hand.

  “Oh, Amy?” his voice echoed from her hand just as she reached the bedroom. “I forgot to tell you something… I love you.”

  Amy flopped down onto the squeaking mattress with a bright smile on her face. Shiloh clambered up the stairs and joined her in her usual place at the foot of the bed.

  Amy pressed the green button once more and sighed, “Luke, I love you more than you’ll ever know. Please come home soon.” She smiled, placing the trinket radio on the pillow beside her and gazed into the magnificent ring. Her eyes closing, she daydreamed about what life would be like, just the two of them alone on their farm. Maybe they’d raise a family of their own someday. The smile faded as she drifted into a deep sleep. Someday, soon enough, Luke’s loving gaze would be upon her again, his embrace filling her with love and desire. The whole experience had been so mind blowing, a whirr of emotions and the most amazing love story her mind could have ever conceived. She was in love with an alien, and she wouldn’t want it any other way.

  THE END

  Saved By Alien Love

  Story Description

  Caden is a cyborg soldier. Deadly and precise, she’s used to being sent on risky space patrols that never seem to challenge her strength. Like the other Minders, she’s been bred specifically for security and combat, but her unusually short stature means she’s used to be
ing underestimated.

  Because of this, Caden allows her Commander to think she has an innate berserk mode that makes her impossible to take down, preferring to be seen as a fierce underdog rather than a dangerous anomaly who can’t control her violent fugue states.

  Her denial works for years—and then she is reassigned. Before she can blink, she’s escorting a strikingly handsome alien council member back to his home planet, and she’s not sure how much longer she can keep up the illusion of control.

  An emergency landing throws Caden face first into her worst nightmare, and she has to learn to tap into the terrifying emotion that has ruled her for years—while keeping this gorgeous other-worldly being safe. Saving the day has never been more of a challenge—but no one said that being a hero means being without fear.

  It took forty-six Galaxy minutes to get from Caden’s hub to Xondux, and only ten of them had passed. This was the longest inter-system flight she’d ever taken. She kept looking out the ship’s windows expecting to see that they’d actually circled back to her hub, or gotten caught in the atmosphere of a planet. The cyborgs in her dorm were fond of pranks, and once they’d convinced her that her weekly mission had begun without her in her sleep. No matter how often she checked, all she could see was the inky blackness of space, dotted with pinpricks of light and occasionally interrupted by a gas giant or a belt of asteroids. She tried to remember her parental unit’s words--- Evan and Willow were all about logic: close to one hundred percent of cypeople make it through a flight vessel catastrophe. Their fatality rates in common accidents were far better than most other organisms, but this statistic never did anything to stop the ice rattle of anxiety from coiling around her heart.

  Reflexively, she tapped her right index finger against the cuff of her left sleeve, activating the projection screen in her suit that allowed her to access the ships data as well her own. Caden brought up the map of their flight path, letting her cold gray eyes move over the bright blue trail for what must have been the tenth time. Thirty five more minutes, no stops. Thirty-seven if they allowed for possible interceptions of the Ridley Asteroid Belt around the gold sector. The belt was a nuisance, but it was more effective at keeping out pirates than any other method the Intergalactic Council had come up with thus far, so no one could object to its continued existence. Caden didn’t mind, because that meant fewer incidents and therefore fewer reasons to have her pulled from regular patrols---but her regular patrols seemed to be at an end now, anyway. She always felt more daring on pirate missions, and those were often the times she liked to pretend she was a caped crusader, or a masked vigilante.

  “Nervous?”

  Caden spun her chair around so forcefully that she did a full revolution and had to come back around again. She placed her heeled boots on the ground to stop herself, facing the Hyppo accompanying her while she wrangled her pulse under control. The tall alien was sitting about fifteen feet away in his straight-back chair, his slim face an expression of calm and understanding. She fought the urge to drop her gaze and cut off her projection screen with another sharp tap of her finger. “No,” she lied, crossing her legs at the ankle in an attempt to appear more relaxed. “I just want to see if we’re getting ahead of the asteroids.”

  Umi nodded, flashing all of his brilliant white teeth at once. “Can you control that kind of thing?”

  “Well…no,” Caden answered, straightening the zipper on her onyx suit as her anxiety flared to life again. “The ship’s path is automated. But I like to see how we’re doing, anyway.” She bit back the snide remark she actually wanted to make, reminded herself that she really was just nervous about this new assignment. It’s just a new mission, she kept telling herself. Would Catwoman flinch because she was in new territory?

  Umi nodded again, blinking all of three of his calm blue-green eyes in unison. “Please don’t take offense at my asking; I only ask because of course I pick up the energy signatures of the creatures around me, and I have to be especially in tune with yours.” His fingers adjusted his short green kilt nervously, flashing the tops of his strong thighs as he pulled on the material. It was the closest thing to a tic he seemed to have; besides other cyborgs, Caden had never seen someone sit so still for so long.

  “I understand,” Caden said quickly. She wanted this conversation to be over very badly, and she started to turn back toward the wide front window of the ship, but the Hyppo spoke again.

  “Forgive me, but I don’t believe you do. I fear I’ve made you uncomfortable, and that is my very last intention.” Umi’s voice had been low and soothing from the moment she met him, but somehow his placid tone seemed condescending. She knew it was probably her nerves, but she bristled at his words.

  “Pointing out my discomfort won’t help any,” she snapped, and the smile slipped from Umi’s face. He dropped his chin forward, and the dark green hair on his head tumbled across his forehead to conceal his third eye; for a moment, he looked like any number of beautiful humans from earth, albeit one with a constant subtle glow to his golden-brown skin at times. Caden felt a distant stab of remorse, and for once she was grateful that her empathy board hadn’t been activated naturally, like some of the other cyborgs---it would have made the exchange far more awkward.

  Caden sighed, and the simple motion of drawing oxygen into her body made her feel more relaxed. She relaxed her shoulders and tried to smile. Just be an alter ego, she thought. Make him feel safe. Make it believable. “I apologize,” she said softly. She waited for Umi to straighten in his chair before continuing. “I am nervous… about this mission, and about the fact that you can read me so well.”

  “I don’t mean to,” Umi said carefully, keeping his tone light. “Hyppo receive energy signatures from the environment constantly, so I can only block you out if I shut out all sensation completely.”

  “I know!” Caden heard her voice rise, and took another breath to steady herself. She decided to focus on the nearly imperceptible movement of the ship and uncrossed her legs, trying to give her sinewy frame some sense of stability. “And I also know that you’re supposed to help keep me calm. I even know that you’re probably going to help me activate my empathy board later in the trip.”

  Umi didn’t look surprised. “How did you find out?” he asked, his tone curious.

  It was Caden’s turn to drop her gaze. “I overheard my dorm station manager talking about it before he sent out the rest of the Minders. They called me in first, to tell me the…good news.” Caden swallowed, remembering walking into Commander Dorne’s office only two days before.

  He was already standing when she entered, so she had to lift her chin to meet the seven-and-a-half-foot human’s gaze. The Commander had been her personal mentor for nearly her whole career up to that point, so being called into his office wasn’t the special event it was for most other cypeople. He was the only human she interacted with regularly, so she knew his facial expressions far better than most, but he still managed to blind side her. Caden remembered laughing when he told her she was being deployed long term, and that she might not see the orbiting station she called home for months; it was something she’d never dreamed of hearing without first being told of the presence of an all-out war. Then she saw the Commander wasn’t joking, and she stopped laughing.

  She had expected to be told she was being discharged for Earth duties; Caden had been doing protection detail for other cyborgs on the Earth’s surface once a month for four out of her six years of service. Like the other cypeople in her dorm, Caden had been grown for guarding and combat duty. Since the age of sixteen, she’d spent ten hours each week working on marksmanship, ten hours per week working on strength, and twenty hours per week doing a variety of missions that all required her to protect other living bodies from wild animals, space pirates, and even debris.

  Her first two years were filled with patrolling school shuttle routes between planets to keep the area clear of aggressive creatures, radioactive space slugs, and the occasional escaped criminal; after
that, Caden’s incredible power and accuracy finally got her noticed by the higher Council---particularly due to her small stature. She was two inches over five feet, while most Minders tended to be at least five foot ten. It surprised most of the people who worked with her that it had even taken two years for her to be pulled aside for more dangerous missions: everyone on her team had quickly become familiar with what they affectionately referred to as Caden’s Blue Screen. Caden herself loathed the name, but the curious phenomenon allowed her to dispatch of obstacles with astounding speed and ferocity. Commander Dorne told her when he observed her in training that she was tapping into her warrior spirit and simply needed to learn to control it, and her parental units assured her it was a mix of talent and coding; Caden at first believed it was an ill omen and refused to even think about it until she learned the truth about her brain.

  Umi was watching her ponder all of this with an intense interest in his azure eyes; Caden would have been uncomfortable, but she was used to being looked at that way. “Are you nervous about activating your empathy board?”